Tout of order: Official Fifa agent charges fans £60k for World Cup packages

PENALTY: Fans face a big bill to see Steven Gerrard at World Cup [DAILY EXPRESS]

That is the price of an official Fifa-approved package for Brazil-bound fans now that the deadline has passed for supporters to buy their own tickets.

The £60,289.78 bill includes 12 nights in a four or five-star hotel in Rio but fans will have to pay for flights, adding thousands more to the total.

The Daily Star Sunday was offered the eye-watering deal by American travel agency Jet Set Sports in Far Hills, New Jersey, last week – less than 24 hours ­after Fifa ended “first come, first served” sales to fans.

But Robert Long, a senior ­partner at the agency, warned: “There is extreme demand and I’m advising clients to buy sooner rather than later to ensure they get to go to the games they want.”

Although the prices he quoted would have touts drooling, there is nothing illegal about any of the pricey deals on offer.

Jet Set Sports is one of several US companies licensed to sell World Cup hospitality ­packages by SportsMark, Fifa’s officially- appointed sales agency that ­guarantees no match day ­ticket will be sold above its face value.

Face value tickets alone were pricey enough, with hospitality ­section seats for games from the knock-out stages to the final ­costing up to £1,500 each in some cases.

But the mega-bucks are being made from luxurious add-ons that include ­chauffeurs, guides and even full-time Anglo-Portuguese interpreters in all 12 host cities.

“There is extreme demand and I’m advising clients to buy sooner rather than later”

Robert Long, a senior ­partner at Jet Set Sports

Mr Long added: “We tailor every package to individual requirements, so if you just want a few beers in a marquee outside the stadium that’s fine but you’ll obviously pay more for a private box with champagne inside.”

None of the Jet Set packages, nor those offered by licensed ­Californian companies Beck & Score and Cartan included return flights to Brazil or internal airline tickets.

At Beck & Score in Culver City sales associate Jason Marcotte said: “We don’t hang you out to dry as far as transportation is concerned.

“We will help you organise all your flights.”

This is done via the official Brazilian hospitality company Tamoyo but Mr Marcotte warned: “As far as some of the more far-flung destinations are concerned, like Manaus in the Amazon Basin in the north of the country, travel can add a fair amount to your bill.”

Like Mr Long in New Jersey, he stressed: “With all packages, we will customise your trip to your specific requirements and we have a huge range of choices available.”

By the time hosts Brazil kick off the opening game against Croatia in Sao Paolo on June 12, Fifa ­forecasts that an all-time record total of 3,334,524 tickets will have been sold for the tournament.

Of these, less than a third – around 1.1 million – will have been bought by fans, with 400,000 of them going to home ­supporters in Brazil, where ­tickets are priced as low as £7.54.

The rest will go to commercial affiliates, hospitality clients, VIPs and the media, according to a Fifa spokesman.

UPDATE: As of April 1, more than 2.5m World Cup tickets have been allocated by Fifa. More than 1.5m have been allocated to fans, with nearly two-thirds given to Brazilian supporters and just under a third to those from the rest of the world. Almost 40,000 tickets have been assigned to England fans.